Motivation Mondays: Encouragement

“A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential.” John C. Maxwell

Motivation Mondays: Encouragement – We all need it!

Nine tenths of education is encouragement. Anatole France
Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble. Yehuda Berg

What does ENCOURAGEMENT mean to you? Why do we all need it? Throughout our lives, we experience a wide range of events; pleasure and pain, success and failure that teach us how to cope with life. While we all do a decent job of adjusting to our circumstances and, hopefully, overcoming them, we need the support of our friends and family to lift us up in our time of need. Encouragement strengthens, repairs, and helps us withstand the storms of life and, as the visiting Pastor at my local place of worship said last Sunday, we all need wing-men (like in the air-force) to help us make it safely back to land. One of the fundamental needs of all living beings is to be loved – with that comes our need to be acknowledged/respected and encouraged.

Without encouragement, we languish in isolation with only ourselves to talk to. We crave attention, not just for the accolades that might come with it but also, for the human connection that we believe will encourage us to continue our work. So, regardless of where we stand in the hierarchy of human development/success, each of us is worthy of encouragement because a word of encouragement is like a gentle rain shower that cleanses, blesses, and rebuilds us. Who have you encouraged today?

A Story: A Most Important Question by Unknown
During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one:
“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, darkhaired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
“Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson… I also learned her name was Ruthie! All stories via Spiritual short stories

Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement – and we will make the goal. Robert Collier
Encouragement to others is something everyone can give. Somebody needs what you have to give. It may not be your money; it may be your time. It may be your listening ear. It may be your arms to encourage. It may be your smile to uplift. Who knows? Joel Osteen

How can we Encourage Others? Every day, we have a choice to make; we can be the lamp or the match of encouragement. What does that mean? As the story below explains, each day, we have a choice to interact with others in multiple ways. We can be of service when we help people find their way or encourage someone we know who is struggling with personal issues. Every opportunity we have to lift others up is a lesson and a blessing in being lifted ourselves. You see, the secret to success is not just how many challenges we overcome on the road to achievement, but also how many souls we encourage to live up to their dreams along the road.

When we make it a point of duty to share encouraging words and inspirational stories with others, we are performing an act of great service and generosity. We live in a world where it is so easy to be a member of the Me Me Club, and while it might have its merits, what greater gift is there than to remember to help and encourage our fellow men and women? Whether we feel motivated to act from a place of altruism or not, if we remember to make a small daily commitment to be of help to at least one person each day, our world would be the richer for it. Why? Because our actions are like pebbles in a pond; they reverberate and spread the same energy across the land and beyond. So, instead of waiting to be encouraged, let’s get committed to encourage others today… Start where you are and bloom. Who will you encourage today?

A Story: A Choice to Encourage by Unknown
A beggar asked Ibrahim ibn Al Adham for charity Ibrahim told him: “I’ll give you better than that;come with me.” Ibrahim accompanied the beggar to a merchant, and asked him to find a job for the beggar. As Ibrahim was well trusted, the merchant didn’t hesitate to give some merchandises to the beggar and asked him to travel and sell them in another city.
A few days later,Ibrahim found the beggar still in a miserable condition; surprised, he asked him about the matter. The beggar informed him: “While traveling, I found a blind eagle in the desert, and I was very curious how it got food though it was blind; I observed it for some time, and, at my big surprise, another eagle came with and fed it. Thus, I said to myself: it’s WHO took care of that blind eagle in this desert who will also take care of me! I returned to the city and give the merchant back his goods.”
Ibrahim,after reflection, asked him: “But tell me, why did you choose to be the blind eagle, not the other one, who could fly, chase, and take care of others?”

MORE BELOW!“When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you’re making a commitment and difference in that person’s life. Encouragement really does make a difference.” Zig Ziglar

Motivation Mondays: Encouragement – We all need it!

I hope that my story, I hope that my life is… an encouragement for people, especially in Brooklyn. I feel humbled and blessed. Iyanla Vanzant
I’d like to see where boys and girls end up if they get equal encouragement – I think we might have some differences in how leadership is done. Sheryl Sandberg

Why Is Encouragement Necessary? While I was reflecting on this topic over the weekend, a clarity descended on my mind. As members of the human race, we are part of a highly developed yet complex food-chain. We depend on plants, animals and fruits/nuts for our sustenance and, by the same token, all that we consume depends on a complex combination of forces to grow and flourish. Imagine if all of our life force were channeled toward one selfish end goal, without any regard to connecting and sustaining the whole. What would become of our food-chain? Our planet? Us? It takes a series of encouraging factors to make it all come together for our own good and it behooves us to do our part to keep this synergistic relationship strengthened, repaired and rejuvenated. With every act of goodwill and grace we put into the world, we kindle a fire that helps and heals someone out there. We might not always know but our motivation to help others pays huge dividends beyond what we know. How do you plan to add a word of encouragement to the lives of loved ones and strangers today?

A Story: The Most Important Body Part by Unknown
My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body? Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer.
When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, “My ears, Mommy.”
She said, “No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon.”
Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer.
So this time I told her, “Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes.”
She looked at me and told me, “You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.”
Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, “No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child.”
Then last year, my grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the second time I saw him cry. My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to Grandpa.
She asked me, “Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?”
I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me.
She saw the confusion on my face and told me, “This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you were wrong and I have given you an example why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson.”
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears.
She said, “My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder.”
I asked, “Is it because it holds up my head?”
She replied, “No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it.”
Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish one.
It is sympathetic to the pain of others. via Spiritual short stories

Positive Motivation Tip: Every day, we have an opportunity to be a source of encouragement to others. Do your best to lift and strengthen someone each day.

Motivation Mondays is open to anyone who wishes to share a motivational quote, photo, personal challenge or a post that encourages others to start the week on an upbeat note.Basic Instructions: Each week, I will have a motivation word to help us create a response. (See listed words for the months above/below)Email address: You may email or share your post as a comment and I will add it to the round-up of related posts. email it to: contact(@)mirthandmotivation(.)comCategory tag: – Share your post using Motivation MondaysTwitter hashtag: – Use this on Twitter #MotvnMDedicated Page: There is a dedicated page for Motivation Mondays. It has the same instructions and will include other helpful tools and a link to the round-upFacebook Page:MotivationOnMondays Join our page and add your post and/or any motivational piece you think will be helpful to others.Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to compliment the page. It serves as another way to share uplifting posts and thoughts. Please join in and add your voice.

Badge: – I created a fun badge using PicMonkey’s free photo editing tools. You can create your own, use WordPress’ integrated tool on your blog or you are welcome to use mine. (see dedicated page)Tag: – Motivation MondaysHashtag: – #MotvnMRelated Posts

TY Aurora! I either use some of my own or do a search for suitable shots on a couple of Domain free photo sites – Wikipedia & Pixabay – then I create a collage of the photos. My credits are at the bottom of the post.